Matthew
Touchdown! Greaser!
Night IMC no less.
Had a scheduled training flight last night (still working on my PP), but the weather never cleared during the day as forecast. CFI says not to worry, we'll just do instrument work in IMC instead of under the hood another day. No problem, says I.
Sunset at 8PM, take off at 8PM into overcast at 1100'. Didn't see the ground or anything else again until landing, about 1.5 hrs later.
Wow, that's a lot of work. I was expecting disorientation to be the major distraction, but it was just the cockpit workload that surprised me. CFI did most (clearances, communications, ...), leaving me to follow the course and fly the plane.
I now have a new respect for the thought and effort that went into the instruments and their layout on the panel.
Maintaining wings level required constant attention, but altitude changes were the hardest for me. I ended up oscillating quite a bit each time until getting things under control.
Fun, a whole lot of fun, but after landing and a deep breath, I could feel the stress I'd been under.
At this point, I don't see how anybody can do this single-pilot. Nope, no way.
Matt
Had a scheduled training flight last night (still working on my PP), but the weather never cleared during the day as forecast. CFI says not to worry, we'll just do instrument work in IMC instead of under the hood another day. No problem, says I.
Sunset at 8PM, take off at 8PM into overcast at 1100'. Didn't see the ground or anything else again until landing, about 1.5 hrs later.
Wow, that's a lot of work. I was expecting disorientation to be the major distraction, but it was just the cockpit workload that surprised me. CFI did most (clearances, communications, ...), leaving me to follow the course and fly the plane.
I now have a new respect for the thought and effort that went into the instruments and their layout on the panel.
Maintaining wings level required constant attention, but altitude changes were the hardest for me. I ended up oscillating quite a bit each time until getting things under control.
Fun, a whole lot of fun, but after landing and a deep breath, I could feel the stress I'd been under.
At this point, I don't see how anybody can do this single-pilot. Nope, no way.
Matt
. Good luck with your PP.